luna acres

clay sand straw (and some water) smoosh it all together stir it up eventually you will end up with a pile of cob like this   Tractor Cob -a much faster method of mixing cob than by foot -roughly 3 buckets of clay, 2 buckets of sand, 1/2 bale of straw -spread out each ingredient and run over it thoroughly before mixing with the bucket -add the hay after the dry ingredients are combined, cover the pile completely -soak the whole mixture down with the water hose -tractor cob must be mixed wetter than by foot, it may need to dry out before use -larger, more heavy duty forms must be used with tractor cob as so much weight will be on them scraping out the tractor cob spreading out the cob watching :) the heavy duty braces for the tractor cob wall That's our instructor, Diane, climbing in the frames to stomp the cob! The second day of the workshop, after we learned to mix the cob by foot, we learned how to make it with the trac...

a cobbers thumb stuffing the walls Recipes for Cob -Sand 70-80%           provides compression strength           use coarse sand (like mason's sand) with sharp edges that will lock together -Clay 20-30%           sticks it all together           test to be sure it's not silt           it should be glossy, not slimy -Straw lots of it           provides tensile strength (like rebar)           NOT HAY - it will decompose           longer pieces are better           break open bales to check for mold or mildew first Mixing Cob -brick tests are t...

foundation It's finally time, what probably none of you have been waiting for! A review of our cob workshop! I'm going to divide the workshop into several posts, from the ground up. I am going to provide all the notes I took from the workshop lectures first, then a summary from our trip and any notes I have to add. If anyone has any questions feel free to ask! First up- foundation!  Think about piping first! -a perforated pipe drained to fresh air -water lines -drainage below foundation Recipe for Lime Putty -2-3 inches of water in five gallon bucket first -add hydrated lime gradually until greek yogurt consistency -use builders lime - NOT garden lime -mix with a paint mixer on low speed to blend Recipe for Lime Mortar -1 part lime putty -1 part coarse sand -1/3 part grog -grog is a powdered fired clay used as a hardening agent to set foundation up well -can be found at most builders supply stores or pottery supply -the grog can be u...